BACKGROUND:

I first saw a mouse in my apartment livingroom in Nov ‘08. The building maintenance said they found 1 hole and plugged it (not true) and put down a couple bait boxes. In Dec I went away on holidays for 2+ weeks. When I came back, I noticed a very strong musky odor in my bedroom. I didn’t notice any droppings/chew marks – believing the building rep, that they’d taken care of the problem, I threw out the bait boxes, thinking they were smelling up the place.

Jan ‘09 – I see a mouse running all over my livingroom one night. I freak out and call the building office again. As usual, they talk down to me, send pest control, and they tell me: no entry points were found, no droppings, chew marks, signs of mice. Not true, I found droppings in my closets, livingroom, in the kitchen, etc. I heard it in the middle of the night, running around my livingroom, digging through my potted plant, bumping into things, etc. Not getting much sleep/very stressed!
Finally the super came by, and surprise, found a # of holes in the radiator, and pluged them (hopefully all of them, and tightly) with fine steel wool.

QUESTIONS:

1) Is it possible there may still be mice in the apartment? I haven’t found any new droppings. Before the holes were plugged, I lay down some snap traps with peanutbutter – the mice licked the bait clean off without triggering the traps! I have a piece of sticky board on the ground near where I THINK the mouse/mice were getting in, but it hasn’t caught anything… It’s been 5 days.

2) If the mice are all gone, then why do I still smell a musky odor in my bedroom? Before the holes were plugged, that was the one room in my apartment that I didn’t notice any droppings. What is causing the musky smell? When will it go away (it’s been 1.5 months)?

3) When it’s quiet in the apartment (and even when it’s not – the TV is going) I hear sounds that appear to be coming from the walls/every wall. Does this mean the mice are running around in the walls? How can I be sure – how would it sound if it was a mouse? When I hear squeaking or scratching, it’s usually a short squeak/scratch and random intervals, not a constant sound.

4) Is there any way for me to be sure the mice are gone and won’t be coming back? Only now after going through all this (e.g. handling the droppings, traps, etc.) am I reading just how serious/dangerous mice can be to your health. I also read that they leave a small trail of urine everywhere they walk? Very scary!

5) I talked to my neighbour, and it turns out she’s had mice in her apartment for a year now!!!! How did they get there – we’re on the 3rd floor – and why hasn’t this been taken care of? Is it even possible (should I just move)?

PLEASE HELP!!!! This is causing me severe stress, and I can’t sleep! Thank you for you honest serious advice.
I thought the musky smell is given off by live mice…. not dead ones (I assumed the odor of decay would be something entirely different)? Also, from what I’ve heard, dead mice smell for a couple of weeks at most – I’ve had the smell well over a month!

My super told me that they are always putting down bait in the garbage compactor area, etc. treating the basement/main floor. Obviously they’re still getting in and climbing up. What else can they do to “exterminate” the problem on the livable floors? Should they be notifying the lower level residents on the problem (are they obligated)?
If I do decide to move, what guarantee is there that this won’t happen to me again in my new place? I can’t bear the thought of having to learn to live with mice as a fact of life (and have them breeding/dying/rotting in my walls)! If I moved to, say, the 9th floor of a building, would that guarantee me not having any mice (because it’s so high up)?? Or will mice climb as high as the building goes?